1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a bicycle saddle, and more particularly to a lightweight shell for bicycle saddle, which provides a satisfactory shock-absorbing function.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,369 discloses a saddle, which includes a saddle body, a foam, a covering, and two elastic bodies. The saddle body is made of a hard elastic material, having two accommodating holes. The elastic bodies are made of a soft elastic material and are retained within the accommodating holes. This kind of saddle provides a satisfactory shock-absorbing function, however it is too heavy.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0164629A1 discloses an improved structure of bicycle saddle designed to eliminate the aforesaid problem. The shell of this design of bicycle saddle is formed of multiple layers of fiber-reinforced plastic. Further, the body of the shell is made to provide a plurality of holes respectively filled up by a fiber-reinforced plastic with a hardness lower than that of the body, or a fiber-reinforced plastic being the same as that of the body but the number of layers is smaller than that of the body to form elastic zones for absorbing shocks. However, this design of bicycle saddle is still not satisfactory in function. Because fiber-reinforced plastic generally uses a thermosetting resin as the matrix, it is solidified in molding process. When solidified, the elastic property is eliminated, i.e. the fiber-reinforced plastic that fills up the holes of the body of the shell does not provide the expected shock-absorbing function.